The Bristol Blog features news and information about Bristol, Connecticut.

January 20, 2010

School superintendents to state: Raise taxes

Here's a missive sent out today to the entire state legislature by Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents:

Beginning with the deliberations by the State Legislature and the Governor regarding the State budget for FY 2010, continuing through the current deliberations with respect to how to address a mid-year a projected State budget deficit and sure to continue regarding deliberations with respect to the State budget for FY 2011, there has been, is and will continue to be strong arguments for cutting State spending. The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), along with every other organization that represents institutions that are largely dependent upon State funding for operational and capital expenses, has been and will continue to be advocating for no reductions in State spending for these institutions which in the case of CAPSS is public education.

This is all well and good but as long as CAPSS and others engage in a struggle to keep as much as possible of a State budget that gets adjusted only on the expenditure side, all of us are in the position of trying to keep dry our own particular sections of a ship that is sinking. In other words, to address only the expenditure side of the State budget with no attention being paid to the revenue side of the budget is to engage in an effort that is doomed to failure before it even begins.

CAPSS recognized this in the early 1990s when the State faced a budget situation that was similar to the one that the State currently faces. At that time, CAPSS was among the first educational organizations that called for the institution of a State income tax in order to bolster State revenues so as to avoid reductions in State expenditures. A State income tax was established and this made possible the avoidance of a major reduction in State financial support for public education and other publicly provided services.

Since the State faces today a budget situation that is in many ways similar to the one that it faced in the early 1990s, CAPSS has decided to call for a reasonable increase in State taxes as a portion of the effort that the State should make to resolve the current and near future budget problems. If the State were to do this, it would re-employ the approach that worked well in the past whereby the solution to similar problems depended on a balance between reduced expenditures and increased revenue.

By deciding to call for a reasonable increase in State taxes, CAPSS hopes to focus attention on the following questions.

·Would a reasonable increase in taxes hurt or hinder a recovery from the current recession? The conventional wisdom indicates that an increase in taxes would hinder a recovery but this wisdom appears to ignore the negative economic impact of the layoff of public employees at the state and local levels that would be the result of reductions in State expenditures.

·Would reductions in State expenditures actually balance the State budget? If state and local employees experience either a reduction in wages and salaries or a total loss of wages and salaries, the State revenue that is derived from the income tax would decrease. So, reductions in State expenditures would result in further losses in State revenue. If this process were to be repeated enough times, it could constitute a fiscal death spiral.

CAPSS believes that a candid and comprehensive discussion of these and other related questions would lead to a resolution of the present fiscal problem and would also foster a cooperative spirit among all state leaders, a spirit that would enhance the State’s ability to address similar problems in the future. CAPSS stands ready to participate in these discussions and to do so in a responsible and cooperative manner.

21 comments:

The problem with this guy's theory is it pretends that the private sector doesn't ever grow. The idea that cutting expenditures has an overwhelming affect on revenue is BS. Where does he think the majority of the tax revenue comes from? State Employees, if that is the case then this state is doomed because Government can not support itself with out the Private sector.If we continue to raise taxes and not actually cut the rate of growth for the state budget every year from here on out we will have a budget deficit!! Just look at New York and California and ask how they are doing...

Is it greed or is it that people like Joseph Cirasuolo truly believe that high taxes and the continued growth of government is good? It's probably both, but in the case of it not being greed Joseph Cirasuolo and his creed are wrong and they are damaging this state and this country.

12:52 What a idiot you must be. Wall street didn't do all this? You wall street screwers screwed up the country and you want to blame the very same people you sucker? You can't make money unless you and wall street screw people. And they don't drink cool aid either . Thanks to people they drink champagne.

I fail to see why people like you don't understand the difference between the public and private sector in regards to these matters.

If a private company wants to give an executive an exorbinate bonus in most cases, the company can afford it or the man deserves it (for directing billion dollar firms). In the case that neither of these two premises are true, then the company will go out of business or people will go elsewhere due to too high a price for their products (kind of like the high wages of UAW workers pushed people away from GM cars).

But in the public sector, we have no choice. The state (in this case) has a limited amount of revenue and people like Cirasuolo simply want to keep raising taxes to pay for things.

Positivly right can't see anything. I personally fail to see why you won't admit that you and your wall street have been screwing people for years. Go earn a living and stop screwing people out of their money.After all you screwed them all out of it now you have to do what's impossible for you. Earn it!

Your guy Obama bailed out Wall Street. He's the most liberal in the history of this country. Now the tax payers are paying GM pensions, bennies and huge wages for people who screw on lug-nuts while many of us collect unemployment. You think Wall Street is that?

Wall Street is where people invest money in companies so companies can grow. That creates wealth. That is why the USA has the best standard of living in the entire world (for a country this large). Wall Street (capitalism) is why we're a free society, not ruled by governent bureaucrats and thugs.

These days providing "corporate welfare" aka "socialism" is the foundation of our American capitalist economy. There is no separation between the public's tax dollars and direct corporate hand-outs or additional tax breaks written in the tax code for these very large institutions.The individual bears the brunt providing the difference.Obama didn't start handing out the goodies, the handouts have been going on for a long, long, long time under both the D's and R's administrations.

Recent evidence indicates that these large corporations are protected from failure. No matter what. Public's tax dollars will always shore up the major losses.

By the way, so-called the American capitalists on Wall Street, LOVE it.They love their profits protected, and their losses paid for by you and me.Wall Street gets the free ride, Main Street gets the abuse.

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